Chapter Four
"Welcome to TRAPLANTA"
Part I
'You ain't like that old ho I used to be fuckin'
You and her nothin' the same' — Gunna
« Kauner »
"Every mu'fucka got the same cliche backstory, he loved a girl and she hurt 'em bad. She prolly' fucked his homeboy or had an abortion or some shit, and that's his excuse for bein' a dog to every woman he comes across." Amir says with a slight chuckle, over the sound of Sure Thing By Miguel playing on the pandora station on the TV.
"And what about you?" I ask, propping up on a pillow so I could see his face. "What's your story?"
All the lights were off and it was semi-dark in Amir's hotel room, but he was staying in the penthouse suite at the Four Seasons in Los Angeles so I could see a silhouette of his face against the downtown skyline.
"You know how ridiculous this shit looks, don't you?" He grins, referring to the pillows that I was using to keep us separated in the king sized bed.
"Nigga stop changing the subject! Come on, tell me. I wanna' know." I said, playfully slapping his arm.
"What you wanna know ma? Ask me anything."
"Have you ever been in love, Amir?"
I could tell that he had to think about the question I just asked him, for a second it was quiet.
"I was, but shit didn't work out. Nothin' bout that situation scarred me to the point where I feel any different about relationships though. Life goes on with or without whoever, you know?" He says, seemingly trailing off and getting lost in his thoughts.
"What happened?" I mumble softly, fumbling with the Cartier LOVE bracelet on my wrist. "If you don't wanna' tell me that's okay too."
"Nah, you good." He assures me, immediately dismissing the last thing I said. "We wanted different things that's all. She wanted a life outside of Memphis, away from all the crazy shit that was happening in our hood and I wasn't prepared to give her that. So she left. She went to Texas for college."
"And you didn't go after her? Not even when you knew you were ready?" I raise my perfectly arched eyebrow. "You couldn't picture yourself in Texas at the rodeo? Is that it?"
"Heh. Nah that's not it at all. At a certain point, constantly asking somebody to love you is equivalent to begging. And that's some shit I would never do." Amir admits. "If you were in my shoes.. would you had went?"
"Believe it or not I probably would have." I roll my eyes, recalling some of the stupid shit I did. "Three weeks into my freshman year at Howard, I dropped out to follow Sincere to New York when he got drafted. And I don't even know why I did it, maybe I was just trying to find myself or some shit."
"That's ole dude from Miami right?" He questions.
"Unfortunately." I nod my head.
"How long were y'all together for?"
"Four years.. Four long ass years. And it's crazy because I legit couldn't stand his ass half of the time."
"Did you love him?"
"No." I answer, truthfully and almost immediately. "I thought I did, but when you're that young you think everything is love. That wasn't love."
"What was it then?" Amir sits up on his elbows staring at me as he awaited my answer.
"Comfortability. That's the only thing I can think of, I was too comfortable. Leaving him meant that I would've had to face a lot of hard truths, including the fact that my parents' were right about him." I sigh calmly, combing my fingers through my hair. "And I knew he wasn't shit, just like I know every bag, every car and every piece of jewelry he gave me was symbolic to the guilt he felt for fucking my best friend behind my back."
"Damn. Outta' all the bitches in the world?" Amir asks out of pure confusion, furrowing his eyebrows. "That's some weird ass shit to do."
"It is what it is." I shrug.
"On another note, I'ma ask you something and I want you to be real wit' me.." Amir says, changing the subject. "What are you looking for? Tell me what you need from me."
"Why are you so certain that you can give it to me?" I ask him jokingly, tilting my head to meet his gaze.
"Cause I know I ain't crazy, you feel whatever this is too." He mumbles, inching closer to my face. Our lips were basically touching already. "So I'ma ask you one more time, what do you need from me?"
"Something money can't buy." I say without hesitation.
▴ One week later ▴
Milly Mil: Bitch wya? Your ass was supposed to be at my house 45 minutes ago! 11:58 a.m.
Me: Walking out the door rn. 11:58 a.m.
Lord please forgive me for lying.
I was still at home. Sitting at the vanity station in my beauty room, trying and failing to stay awake. It's been two days since we got home from LA and my sleeping schedule was fucked up, of course it didn't help that me and Amir were on the phone all night. Talking well into the early hours of the morning as if we didn't just see each other.
It's been two days since we touched back down in Atlanta and I've been on go ever since, yesterday I took a few meetings with my manager and shot the newest campaign for PrettyLittleThing which took up damn near my entire day.
Today I'm supposed to be helping my sister Monet with some last minute wedding details, in fact I'm supposed to be meeting her in a couple of hours but her ass is going to have to wait until after I get my hair done. Otherwise neither one us is going to have a good day.
Pulling off my black satin bonnet and throwing it to the side, I fluffed put my wild natural tresses that fell down to the center of my back. I'm definitely reaping the benefits of my mom keeping up with my hair when I was younger, I'm blessed nonetheless but keeping up with this shit on the day to day is a job within itself!
Let me get my ass up before Milan kills me.
Since I had already completed my daily hygiene routine, all I had to do was get dressed. The weather in Atlanta has been real bipolar lately so I made sure to check the forecast on my phone.
After brushing my hair back into a ponytail, I slipped into a plain white tee and a pair of black Amiri sweatpants. I'm not even gone hold y'all, I didn't feel like going down the hall to my bedroom to find socks and some shoes so I just settled for the Yeezy slides in the color onyx that were already in here.
Grabbing my oversized Dior shades along with my black Crocodile Hermes Birkin bag, I made sure to turn off all the lights in the room before making my way down the stairs of my three story townhome.
Even though my real estate agent had a very small window of time to find me a home, he did the damn thing with this one. Four bedrooms and five bathrooms, my townhome is a new build located in an upscale gated community in the heart of Buckhead.
I moved in a little over a month ago and I still have a million boxes to unpack, I should've left a lot of this shit back in New York with Sincere. I called myself being petty by taking everything and now the joke is on me. I'm on the verge of saying fuck it and donating everything to Goodwill.
Stepping inside my garage, I pressed the button to open the garage door before popping the locks on my late model black Bentley Continental GT coupe. Sliding in behind the wheel and resting my back on the candy red leather interior, I put my bag down on the passenger seat before closing the door and starting the engine. I shot Milan a quick text as I pulled on my seatbelt, letting her know that I'd be there in a few minutes.
The sound of Lil Durk's latest album filled my ears as I place my phone down in the cup holder and begin backing out of my driveway. Once I made it out of my neighborhood I did the dash all the way to Mil's loft, which was only a few blocks from me.
Milan was one of the coldest bitches in the hair game, nah fuck that. My bitch is the coldest in the hair game. If she didn't do anything else she was going to do the fuck out of some hair and that's just period.
She even had a few celebrity clients in the past, but recently she retired her chair to focus more on the business aspect of things. Not only was she expanding and opening a new location for her salon, she also had some new products coming out in the next couple of months.
"Sorry I'm late!" I apologize to Milan as I walk through the front door. Sipping on the Iced Chai tea latte that I stopped at Starbucks for.
"And then you had the nerve to stop and get Starbucks and not get me shit! Bitch I know you joking right now." She says, folding her arms across her chest. "I bet you was with that nigga again too, wasn't you?"
"For your information, I was at home. Alone." I roll my eyes at her, taking off my oversized designer shades and sitting everything on her kitchen island. "I haven't seen him since we got back."
"Damn for real?"
"Bitch why are you so surprised?" I chuckle, giving her a suspicious glare. "It's not like he's my nigga or nothing."
"Girl please! This is the first time that you've been away from him since y'all met. I can tell when a nigga is pussy whipped from a mile away." She says matter of factly, really believing her imaginary theory.
"Well girl he's not pussy whipped by me, because technically I never fucked him." I correct her, nonchalantly shrugging my shoulders.
"What do you mean technically? Did you suck his dick?!" She asks excitedly, jumping up from the white plush sectional in her living room. "Bitch you did! Did you do the lemon twist technique that I taught you? That's why his ass is in love!"
"Girrrrrrrl calm your freaky ass down please." I chuckle, looking at my girl like she had grown two heads. "And we haven't done anything after that shit he pulled in Miami. If and when I do decide to break him off, you'll know."
"Oop." Milan says. "Okay then! So you're really feeling him?"
"Yes? No? I don't know, the past week and a half feels like an out of body experience or some shit. Because where in the hell did this man come from?"
"A question we both want to know." Milan shrugs. "So wait, you telling me that you didn't even see it? Or touch it?"
"Alright bitch I'm not doing this, come do my hair." I laugh her crazy ass off as I grab my stuff and head down the hall towards her beauty room where she normally does my hair.
By the time she was done washing, blow drying and braiding down my natural hair, it was going on one-thirty in the afternoon. Milan blessed me with a 32-inch bone straight, jet black frontal with a middle part buss down. She had me feeling myself now.
In the words of Yung Miami herself, Not nann' bitch in the world look like this.
▴ ▴ ▴
AB: I kinda miss yo big head ass. Come stay the night wit me. 4:36 p.m.
Me: Are you sure you're not tired of me yet? 4:37 p.m.
AB: Nah and Ion want to be. Be ready by 8. I'm coming to pick you up. 4:37 p.m.
"Hello?!" Monet snaps her fingers. "Earth to Kauner! Who in the hell has you smiling like that?"
"Nobody, I was looking at a video." I lie, clearing my throat as I turn my screen off before dropping my phone down in my bag. Looking around the outdoor seating area of Marcel. A popular steakhouse in Atlanta. "What were you saying?"
"Girl please, it's all over your face and whoever he is he has your nose wide open." My mom chuckles, using the cloth napkin to wipe the corners of her mouth.
"Does this mean you're bringing a date to my wedding?" Monet squeals, clapping excitedly.
"Monet! Please act like you have some public etiquette." My mom snaps, grabbing ahold of Monet's arm to stop her from clapping. "Have you completely lost your mind?"
Ladies and gentlemen, my mother Kendra Wright. With her bougie ass.
How we ended up having lunch when we were supposed to be wedding planning? I have no idea. We had burned through most of the stores in Phipps Plaza and my mom started to get real snappy, so we figured she was hungry or something.
"Je suis vraiment désolé mama." Monet apologizes, using our moms first language. Which is French. "I just can't believe that Miss Thing over here is finally talking to someone. You know, I was starting to think that you were gay."
"Okay if one more person tells me that." I roll my eyes before taking a sip of the Etienne Calsac 'Rosé de Craie' wine we were drinking. "I'm curious, do you think before you speak?"
"Girl don't shoot the messenger." She waves me off, grabbing a piece of bread out of the basket on the table. "So anyway who is this myste—.."
"Aren't you getting married in three weeks?" My mom cuts her off, slapping the roll out of her hand. "Monet, your dress is a one of a kind Maison Valentino. Do you really want to be busting out of it like a can of biscuits?"
That wasn't even near possible, my sister is probably a size 3. And even that's pushing it.
"She's the maid of honor! I don't see you slapping food out of her hand!"
"Oh don't drag me into this Nae. I don't even eat carbs." I defend myself, looking down at my half eaten salad and filet mignon that I barely touched.
"Anyway! As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted." Monet continues. "Who is this mystery man that has my sisters attention and how long have you been talking to him?"
"It's new." I tell her, letting out a huge sigh. Knowing that she wasn't going to be satisfied with that. "And that is all that I care to share."
"Fine, be that way then. But Eric is going to be so heartbroken when he finds out."
Eric is friends with Monet's Fiancé, Sean. They work at the same law office or some shit, I don't even know nor care. Between my sister and my soon to be brother in law, they've been trying to get me to go out with him but that nigga had a better chance pushing up on Rihanna than he did with me.
"Ew. Is he coming to the wedding? I do not want him anywhere near me." I scrunch up my face in disgust.
"Of course he is, and since you're coming without a date—.."
"Absolutely not." I cut her off.
"You don't even know what I was about to say!"
"It doesn't matter, the answer is still no."
"Kauner you are so mean, ma chére." My mom cuts in, shaking her head at me. "I swear you are a direct reflection of your father."
We sat there and talked for another fifteen minutes before Monet paid for our meals, since it was her treat. Since I parked on the other side of the building we said our goodbyes in the parking lot before they climbed into my mom's silver G Wagon and drove away.
It was going on five o'clock by the time I was pulling into my garage, next to my Selenite gray Mercedes Benz GLE 63 coupe. Gathering my things and getting out, I pressed the button to close the garage behind me before walking inside. I was instantly greeted by the smell of the laundry day wallflower scent from Bath & Body Works.
I love the smell of a clean house!
Kicking my slides off at the door, I ran all the way upstairs to the third floor. Heading straight into my beauty room, which also doubled as my walk-in closet. I have three hours to get ready and I'm nowhere near ready, for one I had to dust of my Louis Vuitton Spend the night bag, then I had to find something to wear there, something to sleep in and something else to put on in the morning.
Maybe I should take some of these Savage X Fenty pieces that Ri sent in my promo package. Or maybe it's too soon to be pulling out all the stops. Is it?
Fuck.
« Amir »
Blowing out a thick cloud of smoke from my blunt, I looked out the window from the backseat of my Rolls Royce Cullinan as Vic dipped in and out of the five o'clock Atlanta traffic.
I been here damn near four years and I still couldn't get used to this shit, but this city made me a whole lotta' money so I'm learning to live wit' it.
When I left Memphis, I didn't know what was going to become of my life. Atlanta was a whole different ball game for me and Shi, 'cause suddenly we were the new mu'fuckas in town stepping on everybody's toes.
A lot of blood was shed at the hands of me and Shi as we took over this entire city, there wasn't a dime bag being sold in a thirty mile radius that we weren't profiting off of. I had a few police officers and office officials on payroll too. Shit you know, a nigga can never be too careful.
Business was flourishing like a mu'fucka, just last year we expanded into wholesale and that's when shit really took off. The coke we sold was as pure as a holy water, no cap. Everybody on the East Coast wanted to get their hands on this shit, but we were very choosy about the people we do business with. It's better to keep your circle small, that way if something leaks out you don't have to press a thousand mu'fuckas about it. Only five or ten at the most.
Me, Shi and Khalil were joint owners in an auto broker company, VVS Motors. Which is one hundred percent legit. We had contracts with just about every car manufacturer you could think of, from Toyota to Rolls Royce. Me and my niggas were in the big leagues now and there was no stopping us. I felt like the mu'fuckin' king of the world.
As Vic pulled up behind our brand new massive dealership for VVS Motors, I could see Khalil chopping it up with the truck driver as Shi signed off on the new shipment of cars we got in. I guess they were still being unloaded because the trailer was still backed up to the inspection area, which was actually below the ground level.
We had the same set up across town, in a ten car garage auto shop which doubled as a chop shop underneath. That was our main way of importing and exporting drugs through the city. We would completely strip a stolen car down to it's frame, repaint it, pack that mu'fucka with bricks of cocaine and weed and rebuild it.
"Wassup lover boy?" Khalil says, dapping me up as Vic let's me out of the car. "What you doing here?"
"Shit. I just came to see what was up here. Y'all boys straight?"
"Yessir." Shi responds, dapping me up also. "Chucky had to go take care of that lil' problem we had on Moreland ave.. He asked me to cover the shipment tonight."
I nod my head, already knowing what he was talking about. We had a lil' situation with one of our corner boys running off with five racks. What a mu'fuckin way to end yo' life.
For the most part, Chucky is the head mechanic at the chop shop across town. But he was also a soldier. He used to beat the corners down for us back when we were still tryna' establish a name for ourselves. That lil' Mexican nigga is a menace and he's loyal to a fault.
"What y'all getting into tonight?" I ask, taking another pill from my blunt.
"Not shit." Khalil shakes his head. "I been checking for a move all day. Ain't nobody on shit."
"Nigga it's Sunday." Shi chuckles. "Go spend the day wit' your family mu'fucka. I'm sure Nikki keeping that twat nice and soggy for ya."
"Leave my baby mama outta' this nigga." Khalil says, defending the mother of his 2 year old daughter. "What about that junt you been smashing on since Miami nigga? Where she at?"
"Who Milan?" Shi asks, grinning from ear to ear. "Oh I told her I'ma come knock that mu'fucka out the park tonight. She A1 dawg. Pussy be wet as a mu'fucka."
"Word?" Khalil questions him. "Niagara Falls or Lake Lanier?"
"Nigga what?" Shi furrows his eyebrow as I offer him a hit of my blunt, which he accepted.
"You heard me, is she Niagara Falls wet or Lake Lanier?"
"Shit.." Shi starts. "She Niagara Falls wet but I be drowning in that mu'fucka like Lake Lanier."
We all bust out laughing at this stupid ass nigga. I shook my head, my boy really be out here saying anything.
"This the first time in a week I seen you without ole' girl." Khalil turns towards me. "I was starting to think y'all attached at the hips or some shit."
"Very funny nigga." I mock him. "I'm actually about to meet up wit' her soon so I'll catch y'all mu'fuckas tomorrow. We can figure out what we gon' do about Omar's shipyard."
« Kauner »
"Fuck it. I might as well just fuck this nigga and get it over with." I tell myself as I sat at my vanity station, admiring my flawless reflection.
I'm tired of overthinking it. We're both grown so why not? I'ma just tell him how I feel.
My phone vibrated on the table, indicating a text message. I knew it had to be him because I just let him in the gate a minute ago.
AB: Come out. 8:13 p.m.
Breathing a deep sigh, I texted back with a simple okay before getting up and grabbing my Louis Vuitton bag. Which was waiting for me by the door.
I checked everything on the third floor to make sure I didn't leave any candles burning or lights on. Once I did a whole walkthrough, I made my way downstairs.
By the time I showered and everything, I wasn't even on the same type of time. I had my hair pulled back into a low hanging ponytail and I threw on a white sports bra and some gray Nike sweatpants, simple yet still giving cute.
Grabbing my purse off the counter, I turned off all the lights and set the alarm before walking out the front door and locking it behind me. Amir and his driver Vic were both waiting for me beside the blacked out Rolls Royce Cullinan they pulled up in, Amir immediately wrapped up whatever he was saying to him. Giving me his undivided attention.
He was dressed in a black Palm Angels classic tracksuit with the matching slides. Looking fine as hell as always.
"Wassup ma." He greets me with a smile, leaning in to kiss my cheek as he took my bag and handed it to Vic. "You lookin' beautiful as always."
"Thank you, I guess you don't look too bad either." I roll my eyes playfully, putting my hands on my hips.
"Ouch." He chuckles, grabbing at his chest as of I broke his heart. "You sure you don't wanna leave that smartass mouth of yours in the house, cause I can wait."
"Please. Nigga you love my smart mouth." I say, brushing past him. Getting a whiff of his scent. I made a mental note to go in his laundry room and see what kind of fabric softener he uses. "Come on."
After greeting Vic, he opened the door for me and Amir. Waiting until we were inside to close it behind us. Once he slid in behind the driver's seat, he wasted no time pulling off and heading towards what I guess was Amir's house.
"We can stop and get food or I can have my housekeeper make you something, whatever you want." Amir grabs my hand, turning his attention to me.
"We can eat at your house." I shrug. "I had a late lunch so I don't really have a huge appetite."
"Bet." He nods. "This might sound crazy as fuck but I got used to sleepin' next to you when we went on tour."
"It was hardly a tour, next time we need to hit atleast four different cities and maybe another continent." I joke. "But for the record, me too."
"Oh so I get a next time?" He licks his lips, smiling at me. "You feelin' me that much? Wit'cho mean ass."
"Oh whateverrr, I was never mean to you." I say matter of factly, mentally waving him off. "Your homeboys pissed me off so I just wasn't in the mood!"
"In my defense, I de-escalated that situation and you still wasn't tryna' hear shit I had to say."
"So let me make it up to you." I suggest, caressing his goatee with the stroke of my thumb.
"How you gon' do that?"
"I'll show you after dinner." I whisper, in a seductive tone. Staring into his eyes.
"Damn, I get dessert too?" He questions me, raising his eyebrow as Vic pulls into the underground parking garage of the Waldorf Astoria residences. Oh! This nigga's money must be long!
"If you play your cards right, then yes."
"I always do, don't I?"
A few seconds later we turned a corner before Vic pulled up in front of another garage door. I saw other cars parked in the garage that we were in but I assumed maybe we had to go another level or something. Using a little remote he had in the front seat with him, he pressed a button and the garage door lifted up. Only it didn't lead to another floor, instead it led to a private garage for one of the villas.
There were at least six cars parked in the garage already, six high end cars at that and they were all painted black. It looked like something straight out of somebody's showroom. Vic came to a stop in front of the elevator, putting the car in gear then hopping out to let us out.
Amir grabbed my bag in one hand and my hand in the other, leading me towards the elevator. He tapped a key card on the small pad beside the door and it automatically opened. Damn.
"Which floor?" I ask him, since I was closest to the buttons.
"This elevator only goes to one place baby." He chuckles, tapping the white key card again before pressing the button with the little home symbol on it.
It didn't take long for us to reach Amir's apartment. The bell chimed letting us know we had arrived. The first thing you saw was a giant spiral staircase that led up to the second level. Don't get me wrong, I grew up with money so I'm not really shocked at how nice this place is but I'm more shocked because I did not know this nigga was living like this!
Stepping off of the elevator, I took in my surroundings. We were in a foyer area but from what I could tell everything was super clean and super neat. Almost as if he had OCD. I'm still stuck on this view.
"Let me show you to the room. Then we can figure out what we havin' for dinner." Amir tells me before he disappears down the hallway directly off of the foyer.
I already know what I want for dinner.
"..Okay." I mutter, looking up at the high ceiling and the beautiful chandelier that was hanging down. I wonder if he picked that out, his place was nice as hell.
To be continued...
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